Plague Journal: Week 9

It's been great to see the way people have risen to the challenge of Coronavirus, looking out for shielding neighbours, etc. But social distancing measures have also brought out the worst in some. There are those who flout the rules with a blatant disregard for others. Then there are the 'holier than thou' social distancers with their aggressive, 'Keep to yourself, do not come near to me' attitude (Isaiah 65:5). Yes, they exist. I met one the other day. 

Most people we've come across around here have been good humoured as we've given each other a wide berth when passing on the street or in shopping aisles. The worst we've encountered is an ignorant lack of acknowledgement when we've stepped into the road to allow others to proceed along the pavement. Doesn't cost anything to say, 'Thanks', my mum used to say.

But after adroitly tiptoeing around other shoppers in a local supermarket and patiently holding back while people dithered for ages over which tomatoes to buy, I had an encounter with a living, breathing 'holier than thou' social distancer. It happened when I returned  my trolley. A proper family sized one, while another bloke was waiting to return his mini model. He was hanging about between the two bollards at the shop entrance. I did my best to avoid him by going around the outside of the right hand bollard to return my trolley. 

In other words, I was nowhere near the chap. Yet I heard a gruff voice behind me, swearing and having a go at me, 'that wasn't two meters'. To which I replied, 'As far as I'm concerned it was.' That was pretty much it, really. Sorry if you were expecting something more eventful, like a fully blown explosion of trolley rage. This is Wiltshire, where little tends to happen. Very slowly. 

However, since mentioning this episode to friends, it seems that others have experienced similar things. The pandemic is bringing out the inner Pharisee in us, from tape measure Charlies to people grassing up their neighbours to the police for petty nonsense. In late April it was reported that the police had received 200,000 calls from busybody time wasters. I read with interest Dr John Lees's article in The Spectator, 'Ten reasons to end the lockdown now'. An 11th reason would be to take the wind out of the sails of plague time Pharisees.

It could be worse. At least lockdown measures are being eased in England. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland people are still pretty much confined to barracks. According to the Government's COVID-19 recovery strategy published on Monday, 'Our plan to rebuild',  there's a possibility that churches in England may be able to re-open after 4 July, although we will need sector specific Coronavirus secure guidelines from the government so we know how to keep worshipers as safe as possible. Some indication of when Toddler Groups and such like may be able to restart and under what conditions would also be good. 

Zoom was once something cars did, zooming away at speed, and that. Before the pandemic that's all the zoom I knew. Not now. Our church times of fellowship and prayer are via Zoom. There was a FIEC Zoom conference on Leadership in Lockdown on Wednesday. Very useful in getting to grips with what church life might look like after 4 July. On Friday I took part in a Zoom meeting between local church leaders and our MP, Dr Andrew Murrison. We were able to put our concerns to him, some about the challenges faced in our community and others about the impact of lockdown on church life. He got the point about churches needing sector specific guidance for when we reopen our doors and said he'd make representations to ministers. Good. Thanks, Dr. Murrison. 

Unlike with cars, living in the world of Zoom doesn't mean things get to go anywhere fast. Message prep still takes as much time and then messages have to be pre-recorded three afternoons a week, which cuts down on time for other stuff. In addition, with the help of my wife I recorded two more episodes in the Story of Moses for our One Way Club. There was a 'blooper' in Part 3. At one point the PowerPoint jumped ahead a few slides. Rather than starting again (this happened near the end), I thought I'd have a go at editing out the jumpy bit. How hard could it be?

Using the YouTube edit feature I carefully located the bit that needed editing out, deleted that segment and saved the video. When I checked it out I found to my horror that I had in fact edited everything else out and only a 45 second blooper sequence remained. This was shortly before I was due to post the video on our church Facebook page for children and parents to view. My wife dragged me out of the slough of despond and together we managed to find out how to revert to the original YouTube video, blooper and all. Just in time. Phew.

Last Sunday VE Day was still very much in people's minds, so I spoke on 'Peace' from Romans 5:1 in the morning and 'Victory' from 1 Corinthians 15:57 in the evening. For Wednesday's Prayer Time we looked at Exodus 31:11-18, 'Strive to enter God's rest'. 

We are enjoying the easing of lockdown measures. On Saturday we visited the nearby Heaven's Gate beauty spot and Shearwater lake. It was nice to see families having a picnic and others out for a stroll through the bluebell woods. A small glimpse of happier times before the virus struck. See snaps below.

My current 'big read' is Systematic Theology by Robert Letham. As of last week I had got as as far as p. 468. I am now on Part 6, 'Christ, the Son of God'. I read chapter 16 and am a good way though chapter 17, 'Incarnation (1) & (2)', taking me to p. 497. These chapters provide a good example of why preachers need systematic theology. I have sometimes heard experienced pastors say in their sermons that 'Jesus became a human person'. No, that's Nestorianism. Which makes you a numpty at best, or a heretic at worst. Rather, as Letham sets out so clearly, the Son as second person of the Trinity took a human nature.

In doing so Jesus did not become a third 'thing', partly God and partly man. Neither did Jesus suffer any diminution of his deity at the incarnation. The Word made flesh was fully God and fully man with two distinct natures forever united in the person of the Son. The human nature of Jesus has no personal identity of its own. His humanity is in-personal, the Son working in and through his human nature to suffer and die for us.

Of course, preachers are free to use time honoured theological terms like 'person' and 'nature' in anyway they like. By all means ignore the 2,000 years of theological reflection that finds its expression in the historic creeds and confessions of faith. Just don't be surprised you end up sounding like a heretic. For all their emphasis on Sola Scriptura, our Puritan forebears were not doctrinally idiosyncratic. They regarded themselves as Reformed Catholic Christians, deeply rooted in the theological heritage of the church. The one person/two natures Christology of the Definition of Chalcedon is echoed in the great Puritan confessions; Westminster, Savoy and Second London. If you want to avoid sounding like a hawker of dodgy doctrine, it should also reverberate in your preaching.

Preacher, don't be a numpty, read systematic theology. Capiche?

Plague Journal: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8.